Thief of Joy

Comparison is the thief of joy.

-- OtR

God is permitting this...

Mother Teresa would say to me in difficult times, "Don't give in your
feelings. God is permitting this." This really taught me that the best and
the worst in life would pass and if I will learn myself to accept the cross,
to be quiet, humble and hopeful, that all will pass.

She knew that everyone can, with God's grace, reach holiness, not in spite
of the mystery of suffering that accompanies every human life, but through it.

Fall 2010

 

Nothing like a walk in the woods this time of year -- gets me every time.

The One who is leading

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.

-- Jim Elliot

Nature's Flagrant Dance

The skies and leaves of Winona were caught flagrantly dancing together this morning -- a still and silent one, but dancing nonetheless with joy-filled flair and the most vibrant of colors.

Whether to or not

No matter how disguised, any temptation is a question of whether to trust God or not.

Flock of Birds

I was driving recently down a country road and noticed a great swirling mass of birds up ahead.  It swung and dove, left and right.  Darting, but in a lumbering sort of way, like a big blanket being swung around the sky.  As I watched, I got thinking and wondering about what was happening, about the individual birds in it. Occasionally, it looked liked there were a few stragglers.  At times, the stragglers seemed to attract a section of birds to break off in a new direction, only to swoop back to the larger pack within seconds.  This made me wonder about the birds at the front, what were they doing, thinking?  Did they know they were leading anything?  It looked like they were.  If they were, were the others following?  Or, were they all just flying, in some seemingly cosmic randomness that actually looked planned?  And, what about those stragglers, did they know they were...straggling?

I'm guessing that none of them really 'thought' about what they were doing.  They were just doing it, out of some great instinctiveness, some design that was built into their birdness, individually and togetherly.  I'm guessing the greater percentage of the birds weren't wishing they could lead the flock, nor that the lead birds were wishing the stragglers would do a better job of keeping up.  So, I returned to just the marvel of what I was seeing...a great mass of birds, doing their thing as they headed somewhere, designed for them to go.

And I wondered how much we are like a flock of birds.  No more in control of our destination or what happens to us than those birds us are, despite what we think of ourselves.  Perhaps we could learn from them and just continue to move together wherever we are going, which God only knows.  Moving, not comparing ourselves to the 'leaders', not judging those behind us, just flying...together...a bunch of black dots in motion, silhouetted against the sky in a form of beauty that captures someone's earthly imagination from time to time, teaching the observer to consider Something he or she might not have noticed about this life and the wonder of it.

My Brother, Joy, and Our Family Tree

Over the years, I've discovered that I have a brother named Joy.  As I've become familiar with Joy, I also noticed that he apparently has a twin...whose name is Longing.

Later I met Longing's siblings, Temptation and Purity.  Temptation, like Cain, always tries to kill Longing, while Purity, who loves Longing, introduces me to more members of our family, who sprout like many branches into a great family tree.  Joy seems to know all about the roots of our family and loves to lead the way, encouraging Purity because he knows how big, fulfilling, and wonderful Longing can lead to in our real family life together.

Because of Joy and Longing, I now love my family, all of you, like my Father. I'm guessing you know his name by now, too - Love.

Like me, I'm guessing some of you saw these siblings again as well last night, or perhaps today, in the aftermath of celebration. Joy and Longing seem to hang out together, a lot of the time. Longing (whose nickname is sometimes, Ache) seems to be welcoming me to wait for the rest of family to grow, so we can all go home together some day.